Molding machine for concrete steps



Feb. 17, 1931 PETERS 1,792,549

MOLDING MACHINE FOR CONCRETE STEPS Filed Dec. 14, 1927 2 $heets-Sheet 1 Feb. 17, i931. K, A, PETERS 1,792,549

MOLDING MACHINE FOR CONCRETE STEPS Filed Dec. 14, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jun mun; o1: K/Rr 4060s TPE 7598 Patented Feb. 17, 1931 EEEQETED stares PATENT oeeicei KURT AUGUST PETERS, or sent FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Mon-DING MACHINE FOR CONCRETE STEPS Application filed December 14, 1927. Serial No. 240,024.

of a number of cooperating sections which i may be very easily assembled into the mold andmaybe easily taken apart without disturbing the material used for the step. It is further proposed to arrangethe sections in such a manner that'one of the sections may 15 be detached while carrying the entire step, and thus serves as a convenient supporting means for the entire step, while at the same time access is had to the top and front surfaces of the step for finishing the latter. It is further proposed to provide convenient means for changing the'operative size of the mold by introduction of suitable fillers. It

is further proposed to provide a finishing trowel for finishing the front of the step, the

trowel being formed to correspond to the vertical outlines of the front face of the ste F urtherobjects and advantages of my in- V vention will appear as the specification pro- 80 ceeds.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which V Figure 1 shows a plan view of my mold and the surrounding arrangement for handling the molded stepy Figure 2 an enlarged section taken along line 22 of Figure 1;- p i I Figure 3 a perspective View of a trowel;

Figure 4' a fragmentary, vertical section taken along line 4.--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 a perspective detail view of one.

of the sections of the mold; and

Figures '6 and? perspective detail views of fillers adapted-to be-u'sed in connection with the mold.

While I have shown only the preferred form of the invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifica tions may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing from the spirit of the invention. M

In its preferred form, my moldcomprises a back section 1, a front section 2 and twoend sections?) and l. The back se'ction li's supported on a base plate 6 and sets against posts 7 so that the back section is" fixed in place. The length of this section corre; spends substantially to the length of the step' to be molded, and a cut-out is provided in its upper portion as shown at 8 to provide a nos"- ing for the step to be formed.

The front section 2 isshown in perspective view in Figure 5, and comprises a bottom piece 9, a front wall 11 rising from the front edge thereof, a substantially horizontal po rtion 12 extending forwardly from the upper edge of the frontwall 11, and a vertical flange 13 rising from the front edge of the section 12. The latter sectionmaybe made on a slight incline'as indicated in Figure 2. A number of bracing elements 14 slantfrom the lower edge of the front wall 11 to the front edge of the section 12 to strengthen theentire section, and alsoifor the purpose of allowing thisfsection to be rolled forward on spaced rollers in the manner to be described h'ereinafter., V I H p p p p p The front section may be set up againstthe rear section in the manner shown in Figure 2'. and its front edge supported by a hinged board '16 pivoted to the front edge of the base as at 17, and recessed at'18 to support the. mold section, This board may be actuated vin any suitable manner as, for instance, by

edgesbeing cut on a slight slant sothatthe board 16 is supported by the table forms" a bridge between the base (Sand thetable 31'. Suitable rollers '32 are provided in the face pivotally supported as shown at 38rThe-- lever normally extends transversely of the mold for holding both end sections in closing position, but may be actuated forswinging both end sections away from the mold by a handle 39, the extremity ofwhichis presented on oneend of the mold so as to be within easy reach ofthe operator. This handlemay be locked in position by means ofa pin 41 extending'through registering perforations in the handle and a stationary lug 42, The pin 34: is guided in a slot 43 in the fixed bracket 44; '(See Figure 4.)

- In case it is desired to produce a step of less depth than the regular mold would make, a

. filling "bar 46 may be placed on the bottom piece 9, andin a'similar manner a filler 47 may be providedadjacent the flange 13 to reduce the width ofthe step. I p

Myimold isused as follows: The rear sectionl may be fastened in place permanently or,,if differe'ntforms of rear sections are provided, they'may' be made for interchangeability. The front section 2 is placed up against the rear section so that the bottom piece9 contacts in the manner shown in Figure 2 and the board 16 is swung upward by revolving o'fthe handle 28 on the shaft 27 until it stands substantially vertical and allows'the front edge of the front section 2 to rest on'the recess thereof; If the specification ofthestep to be formed calls for different dimensions, thefillers 4:6 or 47 may be used; Next, the two end sections 3 and 4 are pushed up againstthe ends by operation of the handle 39 and'are locked in place by the pin 41. The mold is now ready to receive the mixture, which may be concrete or any other similar material. 7 After the form has been filled band tamped, the upper surface is smoothed off by means of an ordinary plas- 'terers trowel, and the mass isallowed to set. After. it has set sufficiently to maintain its form, the board 16 is swung downwardly on its hinge by means of the rackrods 19, the pinions22, and the shaft 27 until the board comes to. rest against the table 31. The front section 2, losing its front support,drops on the base, the entire mass ,of materi'al adhering to the front pie'ce'and separating from the back section 1. The front section'maynow be rolled-forward over the? rollers 32, which ing of the front face of the step, I provide a special trowel shown at 48 in Figure 3, which comprises two off-set faces 49 and 51 arranged in parallel planes and interconnected by a slanting connecting piece 52. A handle 53 of suitable form is secured to the trowel. It will be seen that this trowel is made to follow the contour lines of the front of the step, and in order to finish the latter it is only necessary to carefully slide my special trowel along the I claim:

1. Ina mold of the character described, a base, a mold section thereon, a tiltable section adapted for cooperation therewith for forming a mold, a hinged member for propping the latter section and a table spaced from the base, the hinged member being disposed to form a bridge between the base and the table when dropped'from a propping position. I

2. A mold section of the character described, comprising a bottom piece, a front wall rising from the front edg e thereof, a. substantially horizontal section extending forwardly from the upper edge of-the front wall,'a flange rising from the front edge and a plurality of braces connecting the front edgesof the bottom piece and the horizontal section and disposed to allow the mold section to ride thereon when the section is advancedover a roller conveyor.

3. In a mold'for astep of the character described, a rear mold section, a combined front and bottom mold section adapted to co-operate therewith in forming a mold and having a large overhang so as to gravitate away whereby the secondmoldsection is held in position.

5. In a mold for a step of the character described, a rear mold section, a combined front and bottom mold section adapted to co-operate therewith in forming a mold and made to gravitate away from the rear section when KURT AUGUST PETERS.

causes the step to be presented in the slanting posit-ion indicated in Figure 2.

It iube noted that the step is 'iforined with a n si g..- l d e darteita ili t fihs fin sh 

